Sweet Sangria
by Trip McNeely
Summary: (AU, UPDATED!!!! It's been a while...CHAPTER 6 NOW UP!!) Kira meets with Sei's ex-girlfriend, Desdemona Eastwood, perhaps the one of the only people who knew him well before he commited his suicide, hoping to find out more about the Kashino twins.
1. Lyrically Woven

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I started reading the Mars series and love it. I just finished Volume 3, and started to write this little story. Here's the deal: I don't know what happens next, since I'm only on Volume 3, so if there's some ideas that a contradictory to how the real series goes, then don't tell me what happens, just tell me it's contradictory, and I'll change it to Alternate Universe. Thanks.  
  
The wailing strains of a guitar filled the air with a melodic atmosphere. She followed these strains, listening, waiting, following the plinks and the strums and the hums that led her to her destination. The street was crowded, the hour late, but this did not stop her. She had a mission, a goal, a destination, and nothing was going to stop her.  
  
Rarely had she been so determined.  
  
Her footsteps went unheard. The low love buzz of couples wandering around late at night drowned her mere footsteps out. She stopped at a street corner and glanced over at a couple across the street. The girl was stupid, or so she pretended to be, twirling her hair and giggling inanely. The boy; deep voiced, hands sweaty, Levi jeans. Stupid girl wrapped her long arms around his neck, plunging her lips into his pale neck, leaving nothing more then a sore hickey.  
  
Stoplight turned green. She continued to walk on.  
  
This lovely girl was quiet, and used to being unnoticed, a fleeting face in their yearbook memory. She lifted her face to the sky, taking in its colors and richness and depth, burning it into her mind. Blank sketchbook lay at home; after this she would go and have the world at her pencil tip. After this she would go back into his arms and lay their forever. Because that's where she was. Him. Forever.  
  
Stopping at a small coffeehouse, she pulled out her crumpled lined piece of paper, torn from a family of notebook pages, and saw the words. They were faded, like the couple down the street, and ran together.  
  
Flashback.  
  
"Hand me that pen over there." She walked over and handed Kyoko a pen. Sticking the pen between her teeth, Kyoko tied her hair back and began to dot down letters. D. E. S. She read over her shoulder.  
  
Kyoko tore the paper and handed it to her, "You might find her at subway stations, possibly some independently owned coffeehouse. She was a nice enough girl, from what I remember."  
  
Kyoko forced a smile before her face fell ashen. "You're not going to tell him you're going, correct?"  
  
Nod.  
  
"Good luck," Kyoko said, walking off.  
  
This was her mission. Find her. Ask her everything. She stuffed the night back into her pocket, took a breath, and pushed open the door. Black clad "individuals" surrounded the coffeehouse, sitting rigidly, perfect shoulder blades and elitist coffee. They had no desire to be like them. They were better then them. They were individuals. And yet she had no desire to draw a single one of them.  
  
Slipping into a table, a chisel faced waiter hurried over and asked for her order. She timidly shook her head, and said, "Who is that performing?"  
  
"Oh, her, Desdemona Eastwood. Very talented. Nice girl, I'm a friend of hers."  
  
"Can you tell her to sit over here after she's done?"  
  
The waiter energetically said sure, and he was off, serving the servants. She smoothed her floral dress. Around her dainty wrist was a bracelet, good luck charm, and she smiled with sweet sincerity only a delicate girl like her could manage to pull off. Remembering the blonde boy with the pink scrunchie holding his hair back, playing basketball to earn money.  
  
She loved him. She truly did.  
  
This music isn't so bad. she thought, tapping her clipped fingernails. The girl on the stage finished the number, and the waiter whispered words into her ear, pointing to the floral dressed girl at the table. The stage girl nodded and began to walk forward, right leg before left, patches in faded jeans and tousled, unruly hair.  
  
"Hey," the stage girl, Desdemona, said, sitting down in a seat. "I heard you wanted to talk to me. How can I help you?"  
  
Her voice took a nose dive, going down real low, and she began to pick at her nail polish before she had the courage to say, "Do you remember someone by the name of Sei Kashino?"  
  
Deathly, jaw dropped silence.  
  
The body on the concrete pavement at school lurked in her mind. 


	2. You Saw Her Bathing On The Roof

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ooh, I just read Volume 4, and that had some interesting plot twists. I had to replace one of the characters with Shiori, and it works well because it adds to my story pretty well; if you're not a Shiori fan, don't worry.I'm not one either ;). I'm keeping this as AU until I read more of the volumes. Thanks for the review, it's Chapter Two  
  
CHAPTER TWO  
  
Her face was lost in space, mind scattered across planets representing memories and faces and inside jokes once forgotten. Why did she, Desdemona, fearless girl with no past, nothing to be ashamed of, suddenly feel like she was in "2001: A Space Odyssey"?  
  
"Who are you?" Desdemona asked of the girl sitting across the table from the girl who knew so much by saying so little.  
  
She spoke with an unknown confidence, "Kira. Kira Aso--"  
  
"How do you even know about Sei?!" demanded Desdemona. She was beginning to panic, her white fingers clutching the side of the table.  
  
Kira began to stutter, nervous, lost, "He's my boyfriend's twin brother." Glancing up, she noticed Desdemona grow quiet, losing the vehement anger that she'd seen so clearly before. She sat down, crossed her arms and legs, and asked a passing waiter for a coffee. Extra caffeine is what she needed.  
  
Desdemona looked out the window, but spoke to Kira. "You know Rei?"  
  
"I love Rei," Kira answered. "I needed to find you, to find out about Sei. Kyoko said you were the only other person who was close to Sei. That you were his girlfriend." Kira stopped, and looked up to see Desdemona's face. She was still staring out the window, but her eyes were beginning to weaken and couldn't focus on one thing. Sei. Sei. She'd spent years trying to forget him, failing every time. Pills didn't help, psychologists didn't help. Not even music could help.  
  
"Miss Eastwood?" How polite of her to address her so formally.  
  
"I'm sorry about how I yelled," Desdemona finally spoke, leaning her elbows against the table, her blistered guitar fingers raking her uncombed hair. Desdemona bit her lip and then stared at the floor tile, "It's just no one's spoken that name in years. I almost forgot how it sounded." Lie. Her mind spoke that name every day, constantly reminding her.  
  
Kira nodded, but Desdemona couldn't be sure if she was convinced or not. "If you don't mind.I.I want to know about Sei. I need to understand what Rei is going through, he's always so distant sometimes. Sometimes," Kira broke off, pausing, "sometimes I think he just thinks of me as some little art geek girl."  
  
Desdemona shrugged, "Rei was sort of a Playboy when I met him." Kira's eyes flashed with anger. "Not that I had anything with him. Rei was too much like me in a way. No. I had to break the good son." Her voice, so bitter, so full of self hatred.  
  
Desdemona looked Kira up and down before speaking again, "You must really love Rei, and he has to love you back if he told you about Sei, which I'm assuming he did since you'd be the only person besides Kyoko and Akitaka who'd know." Kira's cheeks flushed with carnation embarrassment. Desdemona chuckled a bit, but it sounded forced and wooden.  
  
"You asked about Sei, so I figure I should tell you. Here's the deal with Sei and I."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---  
  
"Rei, get up."  
  
"Five more minutes, Sei." Rei covered his face with the sheets, hiding from his brother's voice. Sei gave up, hurrying down the stairs. School was about to start. His tombstone face displayed his opinion towards school. Since he was little he'd been pushed around, bullied. He'd come home with broken dreams and violet bruises, nose sniffling, trying to be strong.  
  
"I'm up," announced Rei, trudging into the kitchen. "Did we have any homework?"  
  
Sei nodded, "It's ok, I'll do it for you."  
  
"Thanks," Rei said, taking a bite into an apple as he headed into the bathroom. Sei fished into Rei's backpack. It was the least he could do for his twin brother. Every time Sei came home crying, Rei would always avenge him.  
  
Always.  
  
* * *  
  
School can very easily be compared to a play with really bad acting. Desdemona Eastwood hated showing up at school; she disliked most of those who attended her high school. But Shiri Kawasaki, who was one of the very that attended her school that she could tolerate, insisted she go, to hear the latest drama and possibly go to college, which Desdemona had little desire to go to. She figured it would most likely consist of egotistical morons who thought they were smart, unlike most of the high school students who weren't egotistical enough to assume they were geniuses.  
  
Desdemona climbed into the shotgun seat, and Shiori sped off, "Like my new car! Daddy bought it for me! I'm SO glad I can drive now."  
  
Desdemona shrugged. She mostly rode her beat-up bicycle with a basket to work and school when Shiori couldn't pick her up in one of her many expensive cars. Cars didn't meant that much to her. She placed on her trademark glasses and sighed. Shiori glanced over and pouted.  
  
"At least comb your hair and show some respect," Shiori muttered, fishing through her purse to find one of her many combs. Desdemona tossed her mane, refusing, "You had to drag me out of my bathtub, which I was comfortably sitting in and writing songs, to go to school?"  
  
"Psh, it's not like the thing even works, you have to shower on the roof anyway," Shiori snorted. "Besides, your dad would've made you go anyway. Now, let's see, lipstick, nail polish, ah, comb." Clutched in her fingers was Shiori's personal Holy Grail. Desdemona shoved the hand away and stared past the window, arms crossed.  
  
"Jesus, Desi, don't you want to look beautiful?!" Shiori squawked.  
  
Desdemona looked over her shoulder and smiled, "Why would I ever want that?" Shiori muttered as the two continued to drive to school. Desdemona stared briefly into the sky and began to hum a little.  
  
"And didn't you wear those same jeans yesterday?" asked Shiori. Desdemona glanced down at her jeans. They really were trashed; multiple patches on her knees, safety pins barely holding strands of fabric together. Her T- shirt was faded and a tribute made of fabric to "The Clash Combat Rock".  
  
She shrugged, "Maybe." Shiori muttered as the two finally made their way to their pilgrimage. Shiori's car screeched across and she nearly parked on a curb. Parking the car, Shiori pulled her skirt down a little and brushed the strands of obnoxiously perfect silky hair out of her face, and she said, "Besides, I'm leaving pretty soon. Can't you at least pretend to care?"  
  
"I do," Desdemona replied, sitting down on a bench with her backpack, which was covered with scrawled, white out lyrics. And she did care. Who else would she have to boss her around and throw rocks at her bathroom window to get her to go to school? Nobody else seemed to care if she showed up or not.  
  
"Whatever," Shiori said with a tinge of anger. "Hey look, it's Rei! Let's go talk to him!" Desdemona glanced over her shoulder and there he was. Rei Kashino. Schoolyard Playboy.  
  
"Why would we want to talk to him?" Desdemona asked.  
  
"Because he's Rei Kashino!" giggled Shiori, as if his name gave enough explanation. "Besides, he's a cool guy! I hang out with him all the time, he's like my best friend, you should come and hang out with us sometime!"  
  
Desdemona shrugged and went back to stapling her backpack straps, muttering, I'd rather not." but Shiori grabbed Desdemona's hand and skipped over to Rei, who had the usual crowd of admirers.  
  
"Hey Rei!" shouted Shiori, waving. She crept over to Rei and cuddled up, holding his arm sacredly.  
  
"Hey, Shiori and.friend," Rei said, drawing a blank on Desdemona's name. Clutching his arm like a lifesaver was Chiaki Edo. Her legs resembled chicken bones, her hair appeared to have been dipped into three day old dog urine and she appeared to be wearing something most go-go dancers would not wear.  
  
"Hey Shiori, I heard you your dad bought you a car!" Chiaki said, stroking Rei's arm. "That's SO cool!" The sincerity in Chiaki's voice was lacking, and to call her comment "sugary fake" was generous at best. Desdemona did not understand why Shiori and Chiaki were such good friends, nor was she in the slight least interested.  
  
"A car?" asked Rei.  
  
Shiori nodded, "Yeah, it's not that big of a deal. Oh, damn, I just forgot, I need to meet with the gym teacher, about cheerleading. I have to talk about who I'm going to nominate as cheer captain in my place." Chiaki's eyes lit up with a hungry greed worthy of most prostitutes upon seeing a rich man, and she immediately began to trail Shiori. Tossing a wink over her shoulder, Shiori said, "I'll catch you later, Rei. Talk to Desi here for the mean time!"  
  
I really do hate her, Desdemona thought bitterly.  
  
"That's pretty cool about Shiori," Rei sighed.  
  
"Yeah," replied Desdemona. To be honest, Rei was quite attractive, tall, slender, seemed easy to talk to the few times Shiori had dragged Desdemona over to talk. But there was just something about Rei that made Desdemona uneasy.  
  
"You like the Clash?"  
  
Desdemona nodded, looking around for support, watching the eyes of girls who she'd never spoken to before, but who now hated her, then spoke, "Yeah. Big British punk rock group."  
  
Rei nodded, "I never did catch your name, what was it?"  
  
Desdemona raked her hand through her hair, "It's--"  
  
"Ha, you little bastard, whatcha drawing?!" The loud calls echoed across the courtyard. Rei's face went white.  
  
"Sei.?" Rei's hands clenched in fists of rage as Desdemona turned around. Across the courtyard, a sketchbook lay on the ground, and Sei lay on the ground beside it, with Senzo Otsuka standing above him. Senzo's hair was spiked and bleached, and he had multiple earrings and an eyebrow ring. He pretended to be more drugged and tougher then he really was. On one of Shiori's ne'er-go-well-blind-dates, she'd set Desdemona up with Senzo, and he still continued to call and harass her.  
  
Rei jumped over the bench, and Desdemona followed him, picking up her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. Rei grabbed Senzo and punched him repeatedly in the stomach. Doubling over, Senzo sprawled to the ground, and he attempted to trip Rei, but he wasn't finished. Rei punched him several more times.  
  
"Fucker," Senzo swore, wiping blood that spilled from everywhere.  
  
"Don't beat my brother up," Rei spat. He continued to pummel Senzo. One of the teachers hurried over and dragged Senzo and Rei off, with Senzo yelling, "I still love you, Desi!" Desdemona glared and shook her head. Why was she trapped in a place of the mundane? She glanced down to see Sei, and he was hurriedly gathering loose leaf sketches. One of them seemed especially familiar, and she knelt down to pick it up.  
  
"I'm sorry about what happened--" she muttered, but Sei jammed them into his backpack and ran off before Desdemona could say anything more. Desdemona sighed, hung her head in her hands and stood up to face the rest of the day.  
  
* * *  
  
"Why can't you keep yourself out of trouble," Rei muttered as he jammed the keys into the apartment door he and Sei lived in. Sei shrugged, and glanced off into the distance. He hated embarrassing Rei so much. He saw how embarrassed he was when he wasn't able to pick up that pretty girl and had to fight off Senzo.  
  
"I'm sorry," Sei said quietly, staring at his shoelaces (they were fading to gray).  
  
Rei sighed, "And I was drawing to get Shiori's friend's number, I never did learn her name."  
  
"Desdemona," Sei said quickly. A smile crept onto his lips. He'd seen Desdemona around, in the halls. He only could catch fleeting glimpses of her every now and then; she was different then the other girls. She had a certain mystery, anger hidden beneath sarcasm and apathy. The way she ran her fingers through her hair, the strumming of her sticker cover guitar, the rhythms she spoke and moved in.  
  
"Sei? Sei?"  
  
"What?" Sei asked.  
  
"I was just saying how I was thinking of inviting her to one of my races," Rei said, chucking his backpack to the floor, opening a can of soda and plopping down in a chair that was falling apart. Rei glanced up at his brother, "What's gotten into you, you look like you just lost your best friend."  
  
"Nothing," Sei mumbled. Grabbing his sketchbook, Sei pulled on his coat, "I'll be back soon."  
  
Rei shrugged, "OK, if I'm not home then I'm at the track."  
  
"Sure," muttered Sei. He slammed the door a little harder then he normally would. Was it his fault that Rei shared the same genetics as him, yet had every girl throw her underwear and room keys and candy cane hearts at him? He couldn't blame them though; Rei was strong and had presence. And Sei had to be honest with himself, he was weak. It wasn't his fault, but he just couldn't stand up for himself. No matter what. Sei couldn't understand why people just had to bother him. He wanted to be left alone to draw, that was all.  
  
"Mommy, Mommy, look!" A young child, perhaps 4 or 5, tossed his ball into the air. His mother watched, jaw dropped, eyes lit up with glee and excitement. The ball flew into the iar, soaring, on top of the world, before beginning to tumble down. It bounced twice, and rolled out into the deadly granite rivers of the street. The ball continued to roll until it landed directly at Sei's feet, silently begging him to pick it up.  
  
"Mommy!" the boy called. The mother stood up, her soft features and delicate voice gave her the impression of being a very gentle and caring young woman, and said, "Excuse me, young man, but could you please hand me our ball?"  
  
Sei blinked and stared. He just stopped, his mind wandering past the colors and sounds and textures that attempted to keep him down. He noticed the mother walk over and pick up the ball. He heard her whisper, "What a strange young man."  
  
His feet continued to press on, until he stopped to take a rest from his personal odyssey at a wooden bench painted the color of grass. The bench was a great place to sit and study humans as they walked past, the very people who tortured him and who he was absolutely fascinated with at the same time.  
  
A low humming filled the air. It was angst-ridden, melancholy, heavy and low so only one specifically looking for it could hear it. And Sei was looking for it, looking for the source of "it". He hadn't heard anything quite like it, something so low and depressing, yet full of rage and anger, an Aztec temple buried for years.  
  
He glanced up to the top of an apartment building he had been sitting nearby. The song was coming from the roof. Standing up, he saw where it was coming from. A girl. And she was.bathing? On top of a roof? Sei hadn't heard anything that unusual, but it sounded like a great sketch. Taking out a piece of charcoal and his sketchbook, Sei came to the conclusion that he couldn't sketch the exact picture he wanted from this angle.  
  
So Sei did the bravest thing he'd done up to this point; he walked right into the apartment and climbed up the stairs to Heaven's door. Tenants gazed past the blur of a boy; the knees of some of the girls and women began to buckle, for to them Sei looked exactly like Rei, who in their eyes rivaled God. He didn't notice, nor did he care. No one seemed to care about his presence, despite that he was dashing up flights of stairs and no one had seen him around here before.  
  
The door to the roof was locked. This did not deter Sei for a moment, for Rei had taught him how to pick locks (it saved Rei many a detention spent in a dull colored room). The door flew open, perhaps the only one in Sei's life who accepted his presence. Sei strolled out very quietly. It was a spectacular view of the city, Sei decided, and he would have to come up here again and sketch the city.  
  
He peeked around and began to take a quick sketch. But then he realized who he was sketching upon closer look.  
  
Desdemona!  
  
Sei panicked. He dropped his sketchbook and it made the loud sound of papers being bent and folded. Desdemona abruptly turned around, and for a brief moment their eyes met. And it was a scene out of some cheaply produced soap opera, Desdemona, bathing on the roof and completely aware, strumming her acoustic guitar, and Sei, an awkward, gawky boy who never spoke and spent his days drawing a world much more beautiful then the one he lived in. Sei saw something revealed in Desdemona's eyes, brief seconds of allure and mystery that had been the subject of Sei's adolescent sketches and perhaps lust.  
  
Sei did what came to mind; he ran.  
  
"Wait!" shouted Desdemona. But it was too late. And it wouldn't be the last time either. 


	3. Sour Girl

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yay, I got reviews! Thank you a LOT for reading (especially you, Sushifishie, hope I got that right, your reviews were helpful, and FantasiiMaker, I'd love to read that Mars fic of your's) I also finished reading up to Volume Nine of Mars. Which means I have to wait a while for the next volume. **sighs** .  
  
OK, here's Chapter Three, I've got a lot of ideas for how this should work (and if you're mad about some of the stuff that happens in here, just stick with it) and I'm really excited about this story. Hehe, yay! Here you guys go.  
  
P.S. Things in asterisks (**) means that's what the character is thinking.  
  
CHAPTER THREE  
  
".and he saw you naked?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess," Desdemona paused, her fingers waving for the perfect piece of popcorn. She stretched out on her bed lazily, bored. Comfortably lounging at the food of the bed, Shiori leaned her head upwards to see Desdemona.  
  
"I knew bathing on the roof was secretly a desperate call for sex!"  
  
"Fuck you," snarled Desdemona, flipping through a couple of Shiori's teen girl magazines. The stick thin models appeared to be best friends of Barbie (with IQ to match) rather then the perfection of "real women", their faces vacant of any intelligence other then to giggle and get paid.  
  
Shiori's fingers dived into the pool of popcorn, "So are you sure Rei saw you?"  
  
"Well, it looked like him," replied Desdemona. "I don't know, it could be his brother."  
  
"No, I'm positive it's Rei," Shiori stated, as if she had been the one who had been seen in the bathtub. She giggled, "This is SO great. He's SO totally into you!"  
  
"Ooh baby," said sarcastic Desdemona. She sat up on her bed and stretched. Shiori's mouth dropped open, comparing itself to a black hole, "Most girls would kill if they had Rei after them!"  
  
"Most girls aren't me," Desdemona replied. She got off the bed and headed into the kitchen to get some soda. Sighing, Shiori flipped off the television and hurried after her friend, her hosiery slipping across the floor. She slammed the door shut in Desdemona's face, "What's with you? This is REI KASHINO!"  
  
Desdemona shrugged and tossed a lock of hair behind her, "I don't know, everyone raves about him and all, but he just seems sort of like a.I don't know, let's talk about something else! I hear there's this tape that if you watch it, the phone will ring."  
  
"Shut up! You're getting off topic!" shrieked Shiori in her typical adolescent love struck girl way. "Are you turning lesbian on me or something?"  
  
".And then if you pick up the phone, someone will say "you will die in seven days"."  
  
"SHUT UP!!" gasped Shiori. She picked up a muffin and chucked it at Desdemona. Ducking, the muffin smashed into the peeling wallpaper. Pissed off, Desdemona found an apple and hurled it back at Shiori. Shrieking, Shiori dashed into Desdemona's room, tearing off random photographs of punk rock stars. She started jumping on the bed, shouting in a sing song voice, "My name's Desdemona and I'm a lesbian in love with dead rock stars!"  
  
"Fuck you!" Desdemona yelled from the kitchen. "I'll call your mom and tell her about the weekend you spent over at Ryan's cabin!"  
  
"Don't you dare, bitch!" gasped Shiori, slipping back into the kitchen. In her hands was clutched the retractable faucet, and Desdemona let leash it's power upon Shiori, soaking her white buttoned up shirt until her pink bra was clearly visible.  
  
"You BITCH, this was brand new!" shouted Shiori. She lunged for the pudding and flung it at Desdemona, caking her tangled hair. Picking up a pack of beer from the refrigerator, Desdeoma was fully prepared for her little revenge when the phone rang. The two girls stopped, perhaps scared, or rather just a pause of neutrality in the war.  
  
"They know we watched the tape." whispered Desdemona, quite akin to that of Hannibal Lector. Fear flashed briefly across Shiori's heart shaped face, paling her texture until Desdemona punched her lightly, laughing at the gullible Shiori as she hurried over to the phone and picked it up.  
  
"Lady Cherry Pie's Geisha Whore House, proud sponsors of Lady Cherry Pie's Wet T-shirt Contest, this is Yuki speaking," Desdemona replied casually, lifting her self onto the counter. Giggles from Shiori. She kicked out her shoeless feet, her plaid skirt barely covering her curvaceous legs. As Shiori wrung the water from her hair, Desdemona sighed, yelled, "FUCK OFF!" and hung up angrily. Desdemona catapulted herself off of the counter and hurried into her room. Trailing behind and attempting to ring her hair at the same time, Shiori asked, "Who was that?"  
  
"Senzo," muttered Desdemona. She flung herself on the bed. "I keep begging Dad to change the phone line, but nooooooo, we're tight on money."  
  
"I think Senzo's kind of sexy," Shiori replied, tossing her wet hair. Desdemona glared, and Shiori giggled, "I'm just kidding!"  
  
"Well, I wouldn't have to deal with him if it wasn't for you, Shiori dearest," muttered Desdemona. She stared up at the ceiling, which she had attempted to paint but the combined equation of lacking artist ability and laziness therefore equaled no ceiling paint.  
  
"Well," paused Shiori, indignantly placing her hands on her hips, "if you were more willing to go out on dates."  
  
"Except our school has a dating pool rivaling a zoo," Desdemona stated.  
  
"Well, I tried hooking you up with the lions and tigers of the school rather then the asses and apes," Shiori said.  
  
"What's the difference?" sighed Desdemona. "Hey, you know Rei's brother?"  
  
"Yeah, he's so freaky, he's so quiet! I don't know how Rei puts up with having to stand up for his brother all the time," Shiori stated, as if Sei's mere presence was another problem Rei had to live with. Desdemona picked up a pillow and threw it at Shiori, "Hey, shut up, Rei's brother is kind of a cool guy."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"You know that drab report I have to do on van Gogh or whatever that I'm probably going to do the night before it's due and end up getting a C on at best? Well, I was checking out books in the library, since Mr. Miyazaki was going to kill me if I didn't, when I drop a book. And then he was there."  
  
"Does 'he' have a name?" Shiori asked sarcastically, filing her nails.  
  
"Uh, yeah, he just never introduces himself. Like, I've seen him around and know he's Rei's brother, but nobody ever actually calls him by his name."  
  
"They probably call him 'Queer' and 'Freak'."  
  
"I swear to God, Izzy, you can be the biggest bitch sometimes!" swore Desdemona. "No, just shut up and listen! Moving on, he seemed kind of startled but he picked up the book anyway, and we ended up having this whole conversation about painting and stuff. Did you know van Gogh cut off his ear and mailed it to a prostitute?! That was the best."  
  
"OK, OK, so he knows some crap about art, that's all he ever does anyway," Shiori muttered. Desdemona just stared, and then snorted. Shiori wasn't known to be the deepest of people, but she was still the only person who Desdemona could at least stand.  
  
"You should probably go, I've got an audition coming up for joining a band, and I'm dying to get in and need lots of practice," Desdemona said, standing up and walking over to the door. Shiori sighed, grabbed her jacket and shoes and stood up.  
  
"Fine, call me later," Shiori sighed.  
  
Desdemona nodded, "See ya." She closed the door and headed to her room, slamming her dungeon door shut.  
  
* * *  
  
**Will he ever shut up.** Desdemona thought, tapping her pencil. **Ooh, a bug! Must proceed to stare at it until class ends.** The object of Desdemona's desire crawled across the desks until it landed on Senzo's desk. The brute yawned, spotted an innocent and smaller life force then himself, and then smashed his victim until it was nothing but pieces of goo.  
  
Figuring there was nothing left to do, Desdemona waved her hand. She could only do this a couple times a week, since teachers had started catching on when principals demanded them to make their school look nicer so they could get some crappy award no one ever saw anyway. But she was so bored, and anything in the hall was more exciting and dangerous then what was going on in class.  
  
"Eastwood?"  
  
"Bathroom?"  
  
Mr. Miyazaki sighed, "Fine, make it quick."  
  
**Haha, good one,** Desdemona thought. She stood up and proceeded to make a grand exit out of the room. **Safety of halls! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to waste as much time in the halls as you can without getting caught by enemy personnel. Now, where should I go first.**  
  
Having no desire to head into the bathroom and gossip with a group of cheerleaders ditching Calculus, Desdemona decided the next best thing was to head to her locker and just sit in front of it reading. At this point, detention would be more amusing then class. Sighing, Desdemona scudded off to her locker, her combat boots leaving marks across the perfect floor. Her private revenge against the janitor. But as she made her way to her locker, she glanced out at the Quad, and saw some boys--upperclassmen, possibly even sophomores--shoving around Rei's brother.  
  
**Our heroine spots a regiment of assholes picking on those described in the food chain as 'freaks' or 'geeks'**, mused Desdemona. **Man, how pathetic is it to add an inner monologue to my life? Sadly enough, it makes it more interesting.**  
  
Desdemona dashed out into the Quad. She could hear the various catcalls; "Hey fuckoff, heard your brother got suspended!" "Ha, now he can't be protected by his brother!" "Pussy!"  
  
Desdemona shouted, "What the fuck are you guys doing?!" The boys turned around. Rei's brother lay in a heap, bloody nosed, cowering in the presence of the abusers. He knew his place on the food chain. He knew when it was his turn to be devoured.  
  
**Why doesn't he fight back?** pondered Desdemona.  
  
"Hey, it's Sexy Desi!"  
  
"Well, it's gonna be Gonna-Kick-Your-Ass-Desi if you don't find something better to do!"  
  
"It's just rugby! It's for P.E.!" one of the abusers argued.  
  
"Well, get your ass BACK to Gym," Desdemona said. Lit in her eyes was an angry flame, and not even the boys wanted to mess with her. Besides, getting stoned in the bathroom was more fun then picking on some loser anyway. The abusers dissented.  
  
Desdemona sighed and offered Rei's brother her hand, "What's with you? You never say anything to them." He ignored her, gathering up his sketches, all of which had been torn out of his notebook, which had been heaved into a trashcan. His motions seemed annoyed, irritated, a wounded animal attempting to gather everything back and head back to safer grounds.  
  
She sighed and helped him pick up the drawings. He immediately tried pulling them away, but Desdemona had the tighter grip, "Hey.hey, that's me." There was a picture of her, in the bathtub. But it couldn't be her. The sketch, it was too beautiful to be her. The backdrop of the city, the lazy/beautiful look on her face. This girl wasn't her, this girl was different, she had purpose, a goal. Something.  
  
"Yeah, it's you," he said quietly.  
  
"So, then.on the rooftop.that was you," Desdemona said, piecing it all together. He continued to gather up his drawings.  
  
"I know, it's creepy," he muttered.  
  
"Not really," Desdemona said. **Actually, it kind of is, but nothing worse then some of the habits of the other guys she'd been out with.**  
  
He began to walk off, but Desdemona called, "Hey, do you have a name?" He turned around, vest torn in half, hair a mess. It was then that Desdemona realized there was something sort of pretty about him, very fragile, but pretty nonetheless.  
  
He said, "Sei."  
  
"I'm Desdemona," she said.  
  
"I know, you're in a couple of my classes."  
  
"Oh, you mean English?"  
  
"No," Sei said quietly.  
  
"Oh," Desdemona replied. She shook her head, "Look, I'm sorry about what happened. Want to skip the rest of the day?"  
  
Sei's eyes widened, and he replied quietly, "Why?"  
  
"I don't know, beats anything here," she said, her hands outstretched to show the entire school grounds. "Look, you can even pick the destination, I can drive."  
  
Sei paused, and stared at the granite. He then glanced back at Desdemona, "Sure."  
  
"Yay," Desdemona grinned. "Here, it's the Jeep over there. Let me show you." She ran to the parking lot, and Sei could only jog behind her. She panted as she reached the car, breathing in and out. Technically, it wasn't her car; it was Shiori's, but that wasn't important. She had stolen Shiori's keys once and made a copy of them for herself, and besides, she'd have it back without a scratch.  
  
"Here, hop in shotgun, buddy," Desdemona said through a hair clip, tying her hair back in a loose ponytail. Sei threw his broken messenger bag full of loose sketches in the back and rode beside Desdemona. She started the car and they drove off. The Gym class smiled and waved to them.  
  
"Haha, we're so bad!" shouted Desdemona, the sarcasm and irony filling her tone and demeanor. Sei chuckled softly, and glanced out at the cars beside him. He murmured, "I've never done this before,"  
  
Desdemona shrugged, slipping on sunglasses, "It's fun. Usually I just hop across to the 7-11 and hit on foreign men. Fun stuff."  
  
Sei smiled a little. Desdemona glanced over at him, "But we don't have to do that today. What do you want to do? Anything! I'm in the mood for adventure!"  
  
Sei shrugged, "There's a lot to do around here, I guess."  
  
"Well then," Desdemona said, smiling slightly, "we've got a lot to cover in one day of ditching class then." Sei paused, then he too smiled, and they drove off. 


	4. Love Boat Captain

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, thanks for the reviews again, they really are helpful and encouraging. I feel so loved right now! **dances** Yeah, anyhow, Rei got suspended for fighting against the bully, Senzo. Oh, if I made it sound like Shiori was moving, she's not; she's sticking around. Here I think I develop the character of Sei better.I was afraid he was becoming some sort of wimp, which is not what I intended.  
  
Oh, I received this e-mail from someone named "Maria" asking about the author of Mars. I suck at replies, so I'm just gonna say that the author of Mars was FUYUMI SORYO. Hope that helped you, here's Chapter 4.  
  
CHAPTER FOUR  
  
This excited Desdemona, to be with Sei. She couldn't explain why; maybe she was just bored and felt like skipping school to spend time watching motorcycle races with a boy. Not a Neanderthal, not some sort of sex craved weasel (yet), but just a regular boy. She sighed.  
  
Fuck, I'm thinking like Shiori.  
  
"Let's stop in the first parking lot we find," suggested Sei. His posture and the more words in his sentences made him seem more at ease with Desdemona, maybe he thought that she wasn't going to beat and abuse him. Silly boy, she wouldn't hurt him.no body hurts someone until they've gained their trust.  
  
Desdemona smirked, "You've got it, buddy." Their eyes scanned and scanned for the first parking lot they could find, the odds as random as lottery numbers. A smile pasted their faces as they saw their target.  
  
Supermarket.  
  
"Park here, park here," Sei said excitedly. Desdemona pulled in, executing a near perfect turn, knowing Shiori's driving abilities, probably the only perfect turn Shiori's car would ever experience. Searching for the perfect parking spot after the perfect turn, Desdemona parked the car and unbuckled her seatbelt. Chucking the sunglasses in the backseat, she tied her flannel shirt around her waist and ran her hand through her hair.  
  
"Where do you want to start?" asked Desdemona, flirting her light brown mane in the sun. Sei glanced over at her, and whispered, "Catch me if you can." He immediately took off into the supermarket, Doc Martens treading against the graveled cement. Couple seconds later, Desdemona realized what he'd done, and chased after him.  
  
Her feet stopped her as she stepped into the supermarket, glancing past the cashiers and the bag boys and girls possibly aspiring for something more or something less. She'd find her pixie art boy in these aisles of balanced breakfasts and false advertising.  
  
"Miss, can I--" Eager employee; youth faced, Pomade hair. Desdemona left him in the dust. Head for the land of the soft drinks. She stood in the aisle, pretending to scan the Pepsi and Coca Colas that looked so similar. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sei peak around the corner, wispy blonde bangs hiding his mysterious eyes. Seeking the moment, Desdemona turned so quickly that she left marks on the tile, and launched herself at Sei. Startled, Sei stepped back a bit. Desdemona grabbed his shirt, tugging him down with her as she skidded across the tile and knocked into the cereal boxes. Desdemona shrieked as the cereal box pyramid tumbled down on the two of them.  
  
Sei laid beside her, laughing hysterically to the point where he was just shaking. Desdemona snorted and started laughing too, throwing her head back so the last cereal box tumbled down and hit her. Desdemona took the fetal position of lying on her knees and slapping the floor, hoping it would understand too.  
  
Babyface employee hurried over, and the overgrown chipmunk's ear went bright red, "What the hell are you doing?! You better clean this up!!"  
  
"We will," said Sei, wiping the tears streaming down his face with the sleeve of his shirt. Desdemona was still cackling. She brought her face to his, and asked, "Are you crying?"  
  
"Yeah," Sei laughed.  
  
"Me too," Desdemona wiped a tear away and then asked. "How are we going to pick this up?"  
  
"Beats me," Sei shrugged.  
  
"Let's get a shopping cart!" decided Desdemona. She pushed Sei as the two darted forward to the shopping cart regiment. Desdemona leaped into the cart, nearly falling down. She turned to Sei, and tossed him a wink, "Lead me, love boat captain!"  
  
"Sure thing." He pulled the cart out of the rack, and he rushed down the aisle to where the mess lay. Desdemona shrieked with delight, rocking the shopping cart boat and tossing her hair back. Sei leapt on and they sailed together, boy and girl, aboard a metal love boat. Old women clucked their tongues and muttered "damn children", children stared and wondered why the big kids were acting so funny. The employees gaped, stared in shock, wondering why of all days they HAD to get the bratty teenagers. Sei wasn't thinking really. He just wanted to be here with this strange girl he'd met at school.  
  
"Oh fuck, stop Sei stop!" Hearing her scream, Sei used his feet as brakes, just barely avoiding another mess. They approached their destination of spilt cereal boxes, and began to diligently clean it up until Babyface popped up again.  
  
"Hey, what's hanging?" asked Desdemona.  
  
Babyface wasn't pleased; "You two, get out of the store now!"  
  
The two glanced at each other and figured that that was the best solution, so they hurried outside. To make up for the trouble, Sei tossed a wad of money at one of the cashiers before exiting. The cashier looked down at the money, and smiled, and for the first time in three years she wouldn't have to pay for her food with the strip joint money she'd picked up after work.  
  
But throwing them out did little good. Desdemona spotted a robotic horse, and grinned to Sei. "Got any money?"  
  
Sei handed her some money. Eagerly, Desdemona hurried over to the pony, slipping the cash in. It began to rock back and forth, and even Sei knew with her smirk and tousled hair what she was about to do.  
  
"Haha, oh yeah, yes, oh baby YES!" she shouted. Desdemona's hand met the mechanical pony's rear, and Sei giggled a bit. Mothers shielded their children's eyes from the sight as Desdemona continued to make loud, drawn out orgasm sounds in the afternoon.  
  
"That was fun," Desdemona said as she hopped off. A middle-aged woman with tangled rat hair and tacky pink glasses glanced around, and then hopped onto the horse hoping for a similar experience.  
  
Sei and Desdemona walked back to the Jeep. She crawled into the backseat, muttering about Shiori keeping an icebox around there somewhere. Sei turned his head to see over his shoulder, and blushed as he stared directly at her backside. As fine of a backside as it was, Sei wasn't ready for a bitchslap after their little adventure.  
  
"Found it!" Desdemona said triumphantly, waving the soda around like the White Flag. Leaning her legs over the car, Desdemona stretched out on the backseat, "Come on, sit back here, Sei." Pink tinted Sei's cheeks, and he wasn't sure of what to do. Unlike Rei, he never understood how to deal with the advances of the girls that had followed him home and hoped that since they couldn't have Rei, they could have his identical twin brother. His hands began to sweat rivers.  
  
"I've got your messenger bag," sang Desdemona. Glacning over, Sei saw her holding the broken backpack out of the car and into the parking lot. Sei lunged for it, but Desdemona tangled her hand away. Falling into the backseat on top of Desdemona, Sei flushed. Desdemona giggled a bit, made some room for Sei to sit down, and then leaned her head back on his jean- covered knee as she sipped soda and stared at the sky.  
  
"Clouds look nice today," Desdemona murmured.  
  
Sei nodded and stared up at the sky, "Yeah, good day to skip, I guess." Giggles ensued from the girl on his knee. Her hair laid across his lap.  
  
"I hate this song," muttered Desdemona as the car radio's tune played some popular music. She sighed and settled down. For the first time, their little adventure had seemed to cool, and for what seemed like an hour the two sat there, staring up at the sky.  
  
"Sei Kashino, is that you?!"  
  
Nearly jumping, Sei turned towards the sound. Desdemona sat up. She approached, hair tied in a ponytail, wrapped in comfortable sweatshirts and leg warmers. She placed her hands on her hips and messed with Sei's hair, "Hey you."  
  
"Hey Kyoko," he said.  
  
"School's not out yet," she said with her twentysomething superiority.  
  
Sei nodded, "Got boring. And beaten up."  
  
"That justifies it," replied she, shrugging. She noticed Desdemona, "You are?"  
  
"This is my friend, Desdemona. Desdemona, this is Kyoko Kawasaki. She races with my brother, she's getting married to our friend, Akitaka."  
  
"Hey," Kyoko warmly said, offering her hand. Desdemona sat up and ran a hand through her hair. The new girl's hand was the sign of peace. She was not a girl even remotely interested in Sei. A mutual pact where she would not attempt to take Sei's attention away. Defensive mechanism down.  
  
Desdemona shook her hand, "Nice to meet you." For once, she wasn't lying. Kyoko didn't seem like a complete bitch.yet.  
  
"Here, let's get you home, Rei's going to be so proud of you, ditching class and all," Kyoko said. She motioned to Desdemona then the car, "This your car?"  
  
"Sorta," Desdemona admitted. "It's Shiori's."  
  
"Oh." Kyoko said, her lip curled. Resentment. Desdemona wasn't going to argue with it; Shiori could, more accurately, nearly always was a stuck-up bitch. But she was a bitch who gave Desdemona rides to school and set her up with her sloppy seconds.  
  
"I'd offer to give you two a ride home, but I just rode my motorcycle over here, you two better head home," Kyoko replied, walking away. "Rei will be there. Nice meeting you." Nodded curtly, then turned to enter the supermarket Sei and Desdemona had ruined. Desdemona sighed, shook her head sleepily, "Better get this bitch back to the bitch."  
  
"Shiori's nice," Sei said defensively and a bit too quickly for Desdemona's tastes.  
  
"Can be," muttered Desdemona. She decided to drop the subject and climb into the front seat. Turning of the key. And we're off! Desdemona drove the Jeep home, and the ride home was undesirably blank. They drove into foreign territory: rich city brat territory, with the lawn gnomes and the drawn shudders and the koi ponds in the front yard. She parked the car outside Shiori Sakurazawa's mansion. A bloated dollhouse with three stories; more room then Desdemona had ever dreamed of. A boy was sitting on the mansion-next-door's lawn, painting. As he heard the engine die, his ears perked up, glasses perched on his nose.  
  
"Sei!" Second time he nearly jumped. Glancing around, he saw Shuichi Takemura hurry over. He wore glasses and had curly hair and painted impressionistic paintings that were hollow. But ultimately he would grow up and go to Prestigious Art College and die a wealthy, content man. He was Sei's friend. Desdemona knew him as the boy Shiori liked to fuck with and mess with his mind.  
  
"School let out already?" asked Sei.  
  
Takemura nodded. Sei remembered the girl, and said, "Desdemona, this is Takemura.  
  
"Hey," Desdemona said.  
  
His eyes were so cold, so suspicious; "You took her car?"  
  
"So? It's not like she doesn't have enough already." Desdemona's face hid behind her hair, and she bit her lip, pout smeared across her face, "Yeah, I took it, but I treated it better then she ever has." Takemura studied the car and nodded. He had to give her credit for that, and so he did.  
  
Desdemona hopped out of the car, slamming the door shut, "You can tell her it's ok."  
  
Takemura shrugged, "She didn't even notice it was gone." He turned to Sei, "Need a ride home?"  
  
"It'd be nice," Sei said.  
  
"How about you?" asked Takemura. The nod said yes, and so Sei and Takemura piled into his car, and Desdemona sat in the backseat. The two art students began to babble incessantly about art and paintbrushes and words and worlds foreign to Desdemona. Her fingers admired the fine Italian leather lining, and she wanted to lay down on it. Fall fast asleep.  
  
"We're here."  
  
"Hmmm."  
  
"Desdemona? Hey, Desdemona, come on, wake up."  
  
"You can call me Desi, you know," murmured Desdemona as she stretched. Sei's hand was on her arm, comfortingly there. He timidly pulled back as she woke up. She stretched a bit and smacked her lips hungrily.  
  
"Hey, you two losers finally showed up!"  
  
"Thanks for the call, Rei," Takemura said. Rei stood outside, basketball in his arm, his eyes dancing with smirking satisfaction. His eyes glowed as Sei helped Desdemona out of the car, and he grinned.  
  
"Well if it isn't the lovely who convinced my brother to skip class," Rei smiled with admiration.  
  
Desdemona nodded, still waking up, "Yeah, Desdemona Eastwood." With one hand in her jeans, she held out her hand for Rei. Rei knelt down and kissed it softly. Smile tugged at the corner of Desdemona's lips.  
  
"Well well well, Desi, I'm--"  
  
"I know, I know, Rei," Desdemona said.  
  
Rei punched his brother playfully, "So how'd you get my tight ass brother to do it? Did he cry?" Sei blushed uncontrollably.  
  
"Nah, I did," said Desdemona, leaning against the car. Takemura stood by, staring at his shoes and kicking dust. He never interested Desdemona that much; he was really just the twins' shadow, reactionary laughing. Nice enough guy, though.  
  
Desdemona glanced down at the basketball in Rei's hands; "You play much?"  
  
"Yeah," Rei said, grinning. "Here, let me show you some of my moves." He took Desdemona's hand and walked her over to the hoop.  
  
Takemura shrugged, "She just another one of Rei's one nighters?"  
  
Sei glared at his friend, "No, of course not! She has too much respect to be.like that...just shut up about her! She's a nice girl."  
  
"Love always does help the art."  
  
Sei blushed again, before vehemently spitting, "NO! I don't like her! Besides, you know about me and Shiori."  
  
"Oh, right. How you like her."  
  
"Hey, Shiori's a--"  
  
"Great girl with a beautiful mind and you've liked her for the longest time, blah blah blah," Takemura sighed and kicked some more dust. Rei was standing real close to Desdemona, one hand dangerously low on her waist, the other on her hand trying to shoot the ball. He was whispering something into her ear, and Desdemona smirked a little. Sei's fists clenched briefly before he realized what was going on.  
  
"Look, Shiori's been my neighbor for as long as I can remember. We went to school together, we played together, we even had our first kiss on the playground. But she's not as perfect as you think, Sei--"  
  
"Stop lecturing me, Shuichi," muttered Sei. "Shiori's perfect for me, don't talk trash about her around me."  
  
The jangle of the ring as Desdemona sank one. She giggled.  
  
"Well, I've had my fun for the day," Desdemona said. She hugged Rei (longer then Sei liked). She slowly walked over to Sei and touched his hand. Then, delicately, she kissed  
  
him.  
  
"Call me," she whispered against his cheek. And immediately she was buckled in Takemura's car, waiting to be driven home.  
  
Takemura gave Sei a knowing look before he buckled himself as well and drove off. 


	5. ButchBitch

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, I know I haven't updated in forever, but I've been so busy lately I nearly forgot about this story. Anyway, I'm back on track now, and have plenty of ideas. Don't worry, you'll find out more about Desdemona and her part in the suicide. ;) Thank you for reviewing, here's Chapter 5, enjoy.  
  
CHAPTER FIVE  
  
"So anyway I met this one guy, he was one of my dad's coworker's sons, and we started talking and." It was time for Shiori's weekly kiss and tells. Sometimes they were more then just kissing and telling.  
  
But Desdemona didn't particularly care. She even skipped along, bobbing her head. Felix the Cat was fading from her worn shoelaces. Shiori had scowled; this was not a shopping trip, this was a "find somebody to lust over me while I stare sullenly at them!" trip. Hooker boots carving out her ivory pillar legs, straps barely running over shoulders. Desdemona never wanted to dress like Shiori; she dressed too pretentious and far too much like a whore for Desdemona's tastes.  
  
Then again, Desdemona never wanted to be like Shiori, either.  
  
"Hey look at this guitar!" Desdemona peered into the store. Shiori sighed, rolled her eyes, puffed up like a blowfish. She had the whole valley girl routine down pat. Or was it the stuck-up icy bitch routine she was going for.  
  
"God, Desi, I know band guys are hot, but they're all stoners anyway."  
  
"Fuck you, Shiori." She always had that inane talent of sucking the joy out of everything. Desdemona pressed her face to the window, breath fogging the windows, not bothering to employ her fingers as windshield wipers. Her lips barely graced the window.  
  
"I want you," she murmured.  
  
"Oh puh-leeze!" Shiori muttered. Then she saw across the street the skater boys checking her out, so she puffed up her breasts and gently waved, before turning back to Desdemona.  
  
Desdemona moaned, "I need you."  
  
"Shut up, I'm trying for the shy girl routine." Desdemona ignored Shiori as she stared at the guitar longer. Just then, one of the clerks in the store decided to lean across to the window and kiss Desdemona through the window.  
  
"Eww, nevermind!" cried Desdemona. She grabbed her friend, "Come on!"  
  
"Nooooo, they were just checking me out!!"  
  
Sighs.  
  
"I don't ever want to work," Desdemona decided. "It just seems like a bitch.  
  
"Pfft, yeah, it is!" sighed Shiori. "I mean, all that sleeping your way to the top gets old." Shiori always talked about sex and how experienced she was. Desdemona knew better then to believe her. "Anyway, back to my story.what was it again?"  
  
"Some boy you were mouth fucking."  
  
"Hey, I was not!"  
  
Shiori had no idea what mouth fucking was, but she felt like saying she wasn't anyway.  
  
"So.Takemura tells me you and Sei skipped class!" Shiori said.  
  
Desdemona shrugged, but she felt her stomach do a little flip, "Yeah, it was fun stuff."  
  
"So.?"  
  
"So."  
  
"God, Desi!" Shiori always whined, and when she did, those were her favorite two words. "It's a boy! There's nothing wrong with admitting that you like a boy! Unless you're a lesbian.are you a lesbian?"  
  
"No," Desdemona explained. Shiori gave her an odd look, skeptic, and then shrugged.  
  
"Well, then if you AREN'T a lesbian, who do you like?"  
  
Desdemona sighed and said, "Mr. Miyazaki."  
  
"Don't joke, we already had too many teachers kicked out for having affairs with teachers."  
  
"Yup, I've always had that fantasy of seducing a balding, middle aged, saggy skin male."  
  
Shiori shuddered, "That's not even funny, even if you need an A. What about Ichiro, of that band you were trying out for?"  
  
"Nothing coming out of that."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"He said girls couldn't rock as hard as guys."  
  
"Pfft, who'd WANT to?"  
  
"Me."  
  
"Butch."  
  
"Bitch." The two kept walking, as if the words they had exchanged were mere terms of endermeant. Then, for perhaps the first time in Shiori's lifetime, a light bulb went off. "Ohmygawd, you are totally crushing on Sei!" Shiori giggled. Oh brother."This is so great! You can have Sei and I can have Rei!"  
  
"I think I'm going to be sick."  
  
"No, no, shut up! Look, you'll need a new outfit! We'll need a manicurist, a hair appointment--"  
  
"I'm out." Desdemona flashed her the bird, but she couldn't help feeling her cheeks flush just a little.  
  
* * *  
  
School returns, and girls shave their legs and boys gel their hair. Teachers prepare to spend time babysitting hormonally driven teenagers. They've given up on many things: the dress code, policing, even teaching. The pills in the drawer, the affairs with the secretaries, that's all that mattered nowadays anyway. Until they made it home.  
  
Bell signaled freedom. Bells just for her. So Desdemona made her way out, out past the court and the yard and the couples swapping kisses. Safe from the rest of the world because, after all, THEY were together. All they needed was EACH OTHER. And a doctor for an abortion.  
  
**Wait, is that.?** Desdemona's attention snapped from her headphones to a boy. A boy with blonde hair and perfectly spaced teeth and Greek god-like appearance. Was it Sei?  
  
"Hey, Desi!"  
  
Nope. Rei.  
  
Damn.  
  
"Rei," Desdemona spoke, turning to face him. He smiled, "How's it going?"  
  
"Good," Desdemona said.  
  
"Yoohoo! Desi, Rei!"  
  
The petulant whine of the Shiori in her natural habitat.  
  
She linked her arms with Rei, tossing back her silky black mane. She knew she was beautiful, and had no qualms with playing it up. Her arm wrapped around Rei, "What are you two up to?"  
  
"Relax, nothing important," muttered Desdemona. "Have you seen Sei?"  
  
Shiori glared hatefully; Rei's voice spiraled, "Yeah, he's in the art room, as usual."  
  
"Thanks," Desdemona said. Rei stared at his shoes, kicking dust up lightly.  
  
"Wait, why don't I come with you--" Shiori began.  
  
Desdemona turned back, and clipped, "I think I can manage for myself." Shiori was always easy to put in her place.  
  
Slinging messenger bag over shoulder, Desdemona knocked on the doorway to the art room. The boy that gave her a ride home the other day, Takemura, painting a dull composition with all colors but no feeling. Sei sat, brow furrowed, in the corner. His mind was completely focused on his work, the way the paintbrush graced the paper's presence. He held that paintbrush like it was a queen.  
  
**He's so serious,** Desdemona thought. **And do I love it.**  
  
"Knock knock."  
  
Sei glanced over, a smile in place, and the seriousness was gone, "Desdemona."  
  
Takemura glanced around, being the only other person there and not particularly wanting to invade their privacy, announced that he needed to pick up some, erm, clothes from the locker room he'd forgotten. He scuttered out.  
  
Desdemona smirked, and walked over to study Sei's panting. It arched and curved and twirled, a wild swirl of colors and thought that had been poured onto paper, "You don't have to call me Desdemona."  
  
"Desi?"  
  
She shook her matted hair, "Nah. Why not Mona Lisa? Unless..." Desdemona propped herself on the counter, "there's some one else."  
  
Sei smiled, "Mona Lisa it is."  
  
"I can't talk that long," Desdemona said. "I just wanted to invite you to a concert of mine."  
  
"You're in a band?"  
  
"Sort of. One of the local bands, Defect, thought that having a girl lead singer would get them more attention from the males, which would get them more money. Badda bing, you're looking at her."  
  
"That's great," Sei said. He was so sincere, so gentle and honest. "Where is it?"  
  
"At Longview, down by that grocery store we busted," Desdemona said satisfyingly. She was so wild and loud. She wrapped her arms around him, "I hope you can come."  
  
A little tug at the corner of Sei's mouth, "We'll see."  
  
Desdemona kissed him lightly on the cheek.  
  
"Ahem."  
  
The two abruptly turned around, Desdemona almost knocking Sei out of his chair. Shiori stood, tapping her foot, arms crossed, "I never thought the art room would become a designated make-out room."  
  
"Don't get your panties in a twist, Shiori, Sei just needed some peer editing," Desdemona said, smoothing out her skirt. She winked at Sei. Shiori caught this, and from the way she was glaring could've caused her permanent wrinkles.  
  
"Go home and practice now, Desi," Shiori said.  
  
"See you later tonight, Sei," Desdemona called as she trotted out of the room. Sei nodded. Shiori still glared.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You don't want her," Shiori commanded. "She's not good enough for you."  
  
Sei turned back to his painting, "You really shouldn't be the judge of that."  
  
"I'm her best friend, or the only friend she's got," Shiori stated. She sat down on a stool next to Sei, crossing her legs. He stared at his work, she stared at him. "You don't want someone wild and untamed like her. She could break you too easily."  
  
Sei still worked.  
  
"She doesn't understand what a gentle soul is. Or what one like you needs. Do you really think she'd give up her dreams to help with you? Do you think she'd really be there for you, to let you cry on her shoulder when you trip and fall?  
  
"She's not a nurturer, Sei."  
  
Sei worked on, but the focus was less on his painting. Doubt crossed his mind.  
  
Kneeling down, Shiori wrapped her arms across his chest and around the neck, whispering so closely to his ear that Sei could feel her tongue in his ear, "Do you really want to blow your chances with all the other girls? Or more importantly." Shiori stood up to her full height, which wasn't the high, but from Sei's point of view she seemed intimidating, "with one girl in particular?"  
  
Sei paused from the painting.  
  
"Think about that and get back to me on it."  
  
Then she was gone.  
  
Sei didn't go back to painting that day. 


	6. Am I Pretty?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, remember this story? I've been really busy and I always the plot for this story in my head but never got around to writing this next chapter 'till now. It sheds some more light on Desdemona. Unfortunately, I lost my chapter outline, so it may be a while until the next chapter. Lots of plot building in here. Read and enjoy.  
  
CHAPTER SIX  
  
Even before Sei's Doc Martens had slapped the cement floor as he trotted into the driveway, the screaming was making its loud crescendo up. Sei stiffened, his eyes shut. Surely the neighbors wondered what went on in the Kashino house. Mr. Kashino had a beautiful trophy wife and two of the most handsome sons a man could ask for. What could EVER cause such a loud ruckus?  
  
Sei knew. He was thoughts away from turning around and rushing back to the art studio. His art teacher, Ms. Goto, had kept him hours after the regular students had gone home. She wanted him to "perfect" his art, he had "something going", no no, this should be this color, that should be that texture. No, no, Sei, you've got it all wrong! I shouldn't think like this, Sei said as he fit the key into its slot, Ms. Goto only wants to help me. She believes in me, she thinks I can go places, Ms. Goto is right.  
  
The door was unlocked. Damn. Nothing to keep him from turning around and rushing away.  
  
The non-musical opera of father and son yelling filled the room as Sei stepped in. Rei was throwing another one of his arguments. What was it this time? What did Rei hate so much about their own father? Sei shook his head; for once could Rei just shut up and let them be a family?  
  
With his father in this kind of mood, there was no way Sei could sneak past him into the kitchen for food. Another night of no dinner was in store.  
  
If he could just make his way up the stairs.  
  
"And where have YOU been?"  
  
Shit.  
  
Sei turned around. His father was sitting in a recliner, imported cigars in between his stained teeth. Standing above him was Rei, arms crossed, smirking at the fact his brother wasn't going to escape tonight.  
  
"Ms. Goto kept me after school to work on my art."  
  
"This is ridiculous, I want you home early, not out doing God knows what God knows where!" shouted Mr. Kashino. Obviously he wouldn't have even noticed if he and Rei hadn't been in a fight. There was a hole in the wall beside Mr. Kashino's recliner. Perhaps Rei was attempting to start a collection.  
  
"What time is it?" asked Sei.  
  
"After 6," Rei muttered.  
  
Sei's jaw dropped. Desdemona expected him to be at her concert. "I have to go."  
  
"What?! You can't just leave--"  
  
Yes he could.  
  
"Bye!"  
  
The thud of his shoes as he left another round of screaming and swearing. Where was it again? Longview? That was it. Purposely cheesy, socially low dive where all the beautiful freaks went. Sei's pace picked up. He could hear the screaming of a goddess in the dive. Then, he realized that it was the music. Desdemona's music.  
  
"Pay up." The beefy bouncer with his porn fanatic mustache blocked Sei's entrance. Sei dug into his pocket and handed the bouncer what he needed.  
  
Then Sei was unleashed onto Longview.  
  
It was crowded and smelled faintly of second-hand perfume and sweaty boys. They were jumping or slamming into each other, or some were just slipping their tongues into the others' hearts. Sei was gentle at first, quietly trying to make his way to the front and mumbling, "excuse me" every so often. The crowd did not understand his good intentions. They shoved and threw him. They were a multi-armed, multi-legged creature, like from the Hindu religion. With one force they lifted Sei above their heads and tossed him to the front of the crowd. His jeans scraped the floor and cut open his jeans' knee. But Sei was in front, where he needed. Then he looked up.  
  
There she was.  
  
Desdemona was screaming. But in a melodic sort of way. She was strumming her guitar rather professionally for someone who was unleashing such rage and pent-up emotion. There were two other boys, a drummer and a bassist, and they were caught up in the moment too.  
  
Clearly Desdemona had forgotten her lines, or perhaps she didn't feel like she needed to go on, because she started using her microphone stand as a pole and began to swing herself on it. The bassist smashed his bass and began repeatedly hitting his head against the amps, perhaps hoping they'd explode and catch his hair on fire ala Michael Jackson. Desdemona slipped from the her clutch on the microphone and fell into the crowd. The drummer was the only one playing anymore, pounding away into a descending decrescendo, until eventually he just collapsed into his own drum set.  
  
Sei caught Desdemona from her stage fall. She didn't smell like she was drunk, maybe she was just a bit tipsy.  
  
"Thanks," Desdemona muttered, and then pulled back her tangles of hair to see it was Sei. "Sei?"  
  
"I'm sorry if I'm late," Sei told her.  
  
Desdemona shook her hair and waved him off, "It's OK. Show's over before it was supposed to be. Manager's gonna kick our asses for it, but I thought we got the crowd pretty riled up."  
  
Riled up was a modest way to describe it, but Sei wasn't going to bring that up. To Desdemona this was a great success.  
  
"Here, come on."  
  
"Aren't you going to get paid?"  
  
Desdemona looked a little bit sick, "Jose will pick it up for me. If he keeps it for himself, then he'll lose his new lead singer, who I think drew a pretty big crowd for him." The reaction was overwhelmingly positive. The others were nodding to Desdemona with approval. She even got asked out twice during the walk from the stage to the back door.  
  
"See ya, girly."  
  
Desdemona waved with her middle finger and they entered the normal world. It was getting darker and darker out. Sei sighed and forgot he had placed his arm around Desdemona's slightly shaking shoulders.  
  
"You cold?"  
  
"I think I'm a little drunk, actually," Desdemona admitted. She stumbled. "OK, more then maybe a little."  
  
"Want to go anywhere.?"  
  
Desdemona shook her head, "No, I just want to walk home."  
  
Sei nodded. He'd missed his chance to really spend time with Desdemona. Then he sighed, and it felt chilly outside. Desdemona had crossed her arms and was hunched over slightly.  
  
They did not speak again until they arrived at the apartments. Sei walked Desdemona to her apartment and up the stairs. (She tripped twice, and would've faced flights of stairs and fracture of her neck if Sei hadn't been there). Desdemona fished in her bra and pulled out a key, in which she unlocked the door.  
  
"Don't stand out there, come in." Sei cautiously peered in. The place wasn't messy or disgusting, rather clean and comfortable, yet cramped.  
  
"Desdemona, who is this?" A light flickered from the bathroom as a tall, muscular man strolled out. He was a rather youthful looking man, gold attached to his ears and it appeared as if he had just shaved and cut his hair.  
  
"Itchy, this is Sei Kashino, he's a friend from school. Sei, this is my dad, Ichiro, but I just call him Itchy."  
  
Sei nodded and gave a polite smile. "Hello." He stood up to offer his hand to Ichiro. Ichiro looked him over filled with apprehension and shook his head back. By the casual friendliness between Ichiro and Desdemona, they seemed more like brother and sister then father and daughter.  
  
"I'm going to bed," announced Desdemona as she trudged off to the bathroom. This left Ichiro and Sei in an awkward silence. Sei began to squirm.  
  
"So, you're a friend of Desi's?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Hmm," said Ichiro skeptically. "I see. What classes do you have with her?"  
  
"Uhm."  
  
"What do you plan to do with your life?"  
  
"I want to go to art school--"  
  
"Itchy, leave him alone." Desdemona emerged from the bathroom. "He doesn't want to sleep with me."  
  
Ichiro shrugged, "I have to go serve a shift at 7-11 tonight, you going to be OK?"  
  
Desdemona nodded. Ichiro walked over and kissed her on the forehead. Her hair was matted with sweat to her forehead. Then Ichiro turned to Sei and whispered, "I'm giving you five minutes. There's a cop below, if I hear anything happened I'll have your ass in jail so quickly it won't be funny."  
  
Sei nodded, "Yes, sir." Apparently Ichiro liked the way he had referred to him, for he slapped Sei on the back approvingly then left.  
  
Sei glanced to Desdemona, who was standing in the make-shift kitchen. She was picking up spaghetti with her bare hands and letting it drip back onto the plate, muttering, "He didn't even have time for dinner." Then she looked up to Sei and smiled, "He likes you."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Didn't pull the rifle out on you." Sei wasn't sure whether to life or be very nervous. Desdemona scratched her head, headed for the couch, and curled up in a worn blanket.  
  
"I guess I better go."  
  
"Wait," Desdemona said. "Stay."  
  
"I can't. If I did your dad really would pull the rifle on me."  
  
Desdemona nodded, and pouted a little, "You're right."  
  
Sei moved towards the door. He had his hand around it when he heard a whispered, "Sei?"  
  
Sei turned back, "Yes?"  
  
"Do you think I'm pretty?"  
  
Sei paused. Desdemona sat there, bruised beauty from the rough. There was this longing in her eyes, to be loved, to have everyone love her. What was it? No painting could have captured the raw, unadulterated emotion in just that one girl's face.  
  
And it wasn't even Shiori.  
  
"Yes," murmured Sei. Then he sneaked out and shut the door. 


End file.
